Americans at War
Civil War
THE CIVIL WAR (8825)
1989, Color, 11 hours (9 videos), NR.
PBS brings to the small screen the epic struggle of the American Civil War. Using letters, paintings, interviews, and photographs, the history of a nation unfolds.
THE CIVIL WAR SERIES
The Civil War: Shiloh (SV5080/6238)
1987, Color, 30 minutes, NR.
The Southern Armies of the West under the command of Albert Sidney Johnston were hurled at the unsuspecting Northern Army at Shiloh in April 1862. Includes exclusive scenes from the 125th anniversary re-enactment.
GETTYSBURG (16647 plus)
1993, Color, 182 minutes.
Starring: Tom Berenger, Jeff Daniels, Sam Elliott, and Martin Sheen.
Covering three days of brutal military campaigns, the film re-creates the world in which Robert E. Lee, James Longstreet, Lewis Armistead, and others made their tactical decisions and demonstrated their leadership in the battle of Gettysburg. Special attention is paid to historical accuracy in costumes, epic battle scenes, and weaponry.
JOHNNY SHILOH (SV2724)
1963, Color, 90 minutes, Rated G.
Starring: Brian Keith and Kevin Corcoran.
The story of a young drummer boy in an Ohio regiment during the Civil War. Outstanding costumes, scenery, and battle footage are featured throughout this Walt Disney feature.
THE MYSTERY OF ROBERT E. LEE (THE LEGEND SERIES) (SV23068/33562)
1996, Color, 63 minutes, NR.
Professor Elliot Engel uses anecdote, analysis, and large doses of humor to give new insights in the backgrounds, lives, and accomplishments of the great masters of English and American literature.
RED BADGE OF COURAGE (SV183)
1951, B&W, 69 minutes, NR.
Starring: Audie Murphy.
A realistic treatment of Stephen Crane’s famous Civil War novel of a young soldier's initiation to battle.
WORLD WAR I
ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT (SV4142)
1979, Color, 128 minutes, Rated PG.
Starring: Richard Thomas, Ernest Borgnine, Donald Pleasence, and Ian Holm.
An outstanding, made-for-television enactment of the great novel of World War I. Considered anti-war, this video accurately portrays the era of 1914-1918.
A FAREWELL TO ARMS (SV128)
1932, B&W, 78 minutes.
Starring: Helen Hayes and Gary Cooper.
Ernest Hemingway's story of doomed love between a wounded ambulance driver and a nurse in Italy during WWI.
WORLD WAR II
ANNE FRANK: THE WHOLE STORY (32983 plus)
2001. Color, 189 minutes, Rated PG-13.
Starring: Hannah Taylor Gordon, Ben Kingsley, Brenda Blethyn, and Tatjana Blacher.
Based on Melissa Muller’s book Anne Frank: A Biography, this film covers young Anne Frank’s life from her childhood before the war in Amsterdam, through the harsh war years covered in her diary, to her final days leading up to her death in a Nazi concentration camp.
THE ATTIC: THE HIDING OF ANNE FRANK (SV13147)
95 minutes.
True story of Miep Gies (Mary Steenburgen), a woman who risked everything she had to protect the lives of almost a dozen Dutch Jews, including the young Anne Frank. Set in Amsterdam during World War II, The Attic is Gies’ powerful true story.
THE DEMOCRAT AND THE DICTATOR (SV8317)
1984, Color and B&W, 58 minutes.
Provides a unique perspective of the greatest conflict the world has ever experienced. Covers the years from 1933 to 1945, when Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Adolph Hitler dominated the world stage.
THE LONGEST DAY (SV4202/17865)
1962, B&W, 180 minutes, Rated G.
Starring: John Wayne, Robert Mitchum, Henry Fonda, Sean Connery, and Richard Burton.
A re-creation of the Allied invasion of Normandy. Historically accurate and full of actual war footage. This Definitive D-day movie covers that fateful day from all perspectives. From the German high command and front-line officers to the French Résistance and all the key Allied participants.
MACARTHUR (3595)
1979, Color, 131 minutes, Rated PG.
Starring: Gregory Peck, Ed Flanders, and Dan O’Herlihy.
General Douglas MacAurthur reflects on the events of his life: his achievments as the Head of the American forces in the Pacific during World War II, his years governing post-war Japan, and his final campaign in Korea which lead to clashes with President Harry S. Truman.
PATTON (32627)
1970, Color, 171 minutes, Rated PG.
Starring: George C. Scott, Stephen Young, Michael Strong and Karl Malden.
Biography of controversial World War II hero General George S. Patton. The film covers his wartime activities and accomplishments, beginning with his entry into the North African campaign and ending with his removal from command after his outspoken criticism of U.S. postwar military strategy.
SAVING PRIVATE RYAN (PO-28703)
1998, Color, 169 minutes, Rated R.
Starring: Tom Hanks, Matt Damon, Tom Sizemore, and Jeremy Davies.
Steven Spielberg’s award-winning film is a brutal look at the devastation that war leaves, both physically and emotionally.
TORA, TORA, TORA (32778)
1970, Color, 143 minutes, Rated G.
Starring: Jason Robards, Martin Balsam, Joseph Cotton, and James Whitmore.
An American-Japanese cooperative venture faithfully re-enacts the events up to and including Pearl Harbor. The film features the multi-million-dollar re-creation of the attack on Pearl Harbor naval bases.
WAR AND REMEMBRANCE (5524)
1988, Color, 14 hours long/7 cassettes, NR.
Starring: Jane Seymour.
One of television’s most spectacular miniseries. This presentation captures the power and drama of our world at war. The series begins in December 1941 and covers the time period through July 1943. Using archival footage and magnificent recreations, the viewer captures forever this era of history.
WAR IN THE PACIFIC (22804)
1996, Color, 140 minutes, NR
From the horrifying attack on Pearl Harbor and the bloody island-hopping campaign through the Pacific to the atomic bombing of Japan and the surrender on the deck of the U.S.S. Missouri this tape is the most comprehensive video ever produced on the War in the Pacific.
WINDTALKERS (CO-35280 plus)
2002, Color, 134 minutes, Rated R.
Starring: Nicolas Cage, Adam Beach, and Peter Stormare.
During World War II, a Marine is ordered to protect a Native American soldier, whose Navaho language is used to send messages in code.
Korean War
PORK CHOP HILL (DVD 2485)
1959, B&W, 98 minutes, Rated G.
Starring: Gregory Peck and George Peppard.
The Korean War depicted through the eyes of one officer and a small group of men who by their position became the testing ground for the United Nations' will to fight.
Vietnam War
VIETNAM: THE SOLDIERS’ STORY, part 1, 2, & 3 (ABC NEWS) (27561)
Color and B&W, 312 minutes, NR.
Hosted by: Jack Smith.
Return to those battlefields for the intensely personal stories of the war’s pivotal battles – recounted by the people who were there. This video consists of first-person accounts from soldiers, commanders, and journalists with their stories supported by actual film footage of the battles.
Volume 1
Ambush! The Battle of La Drang
Under Siege at Khe Sanh
Volume 2
Tet: The Battle for Hearts and Minds
War in the Skies
Volume 3
Secret Wars, Secret Men
Last Chopper Out: The Fall of Saigon
WE WERE SOLDIERS ( VHS 34672 plus)
2002, Color, 138 minutes, Rated R.
Starring: Mel Gibson, Madeleine Stowe, and Greg Kinnear.
In November 1965 in Vietnam, a U.S. troop division is outnumbered by the enemy, but the soldiers dog in to fight anyway. Based on a true, bloody battle.
